The Heroes Journey and Monomythology

It has been said that no matter where you go in the world the one constant among all human cultures is our passion for stories. When we first heard about Joseph Campbell’s theory that all cultures are built upon myths, it was not hard to see some truth in his words. More importantly however, is Campbell’s theory of mono mythology the belief that all heroes regardless of culture follow a similar outline of events which we call the “Heroes Journey“.

Granted this a very abridged version of the lecture so allow me to go into more detail. Joseph Campbell details mono mythology in his book titled The Hero with a Thousand Faces, 1949, the basic structure of the mono mythology is as follows:

1. Departure

• Call to Adventure: The begins with a rather mundane existence until he/she receives some kind of information which serve as his call to adventure.
• Refusal of Call: The would be hero refuses to heed the call to adventure, this could be for any number of reasons such as fear, low self esteem, etc.
• Supernatural Aid: When the hero finally commits to the quest whether consciously or not, a guide and/or helper will makes themselves known to the hero.
• Crossing the first Threshold: This is the point where the hero truly begins his/her adventure. They leave everything that is familiar to them behind and set off for the unknown.

2. Initiation

• Belly of the Whale: At this point the hero has left their homeland and their old self behind and is prepared to enter a stage of metamorphosis.
• The Road of Trials: This may take form a serious of tasks that the hero must overcome in order complete their metamorphosis. The hero may fail some of these more than once.
• Meeting the Goddess: This is the point in the story where the hero comes in contact with a very special kind of love. This feeling has a great power and significance to the hero.
• Temtation: a material desire that presents itself in order to tempt the hero away from his/her quest.
• Atonement with the Father: This is the stage where the hero must confront whomever holds power in order to be initiated. This is typically the centre point of the story.
• Apostasis: